Affliction of the Heart
by SweetXscape
Summary: Shelby is in love with Tyler. She's sure of it. But what happens when there is a secret she is keeping that could possibly end her relationship with him that possibly involves another ranger…


all I have to say about this is… well, I tried you all. I _really_ did. It's my first PR fic ever. What can I say? ;-)

inspired by: **sentbyfools & kathillards** (both write Tyler/Shelby so well it has to be illegal how adorable they write them, seriously. :P)

* * *

Guilt mercilessly raked at the insides of Shelby Watkins – day and night.

She should have told him sooner. A whole lot sooner actually. But, she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to do so.

There had been numerous times she could have spoken up, lightened this burden she carried, and put it all out there, but every time, she found a logical reason why the timing just wasn't right.

Was she ashamed? Probably. Did she regret it? Most definitely. But what she feared most, more than anything, was the possibility that he would hate her, and even worse – _leave_ her.

Losing Tyler was worse than any mission she'd been on and her fear of abandonment from Tyler was larger than any plan Sledge had to finally capture the lost energems and not only destroy them but innocent civilians as well.

They had been courting for a total of seven months and Shelby would be lying if she said that these past seven months with Tyler hadn't been the best seven months of her life thus far.

He was different than many of the boys she had encountered in her eighteen years.

He was sweet, caring, sincere, and had a heart of gold.

No other boy had made her feel the way Tyler had. He touched her in ways sex could not compare.

 _No_ they had not reached that level of intimacy yet, although many times they almost had.

Shelby always stopped it before things went farther than either of them would have been able to possibly stop.

She could tell Tyler wanted to. She could always see it his eyes. He wanted her. He wanted her just as badly as she wanted him, if not, more.

But, Tyler never pressured her, made her feel she had to, like many other boys from her past. And honestly, that was the best thing about their relationship. They could be best friends one moment and lovers in the next. She loved that she could be this happy with a guy without the pressure of sex hanging over her head.

Sex complicated things. It was one of the major reasons she had not given Tyler what they both desired to have. She knew she was in love with him, there was no question about it at this point – yet that wasn't the problem or exactly what was bothering her to no end.

It was the sense of betrayal she felt every time she and Tyler were close to consummating their relationship. A wall she had up, therefore, not allowing her to give herself fully to him.

Every time she looked into those intoxicating eyes of his that gleamed with sincerity, desire, and love, she wanted nothing more than for him to make love to her, right then and there. But she just couldn't bring herself to do so and Shelby knew painfully why.

Was it because it had something to do with giving herself to a fellow Black Ranger prior to meeting a Red Ranger that she has now fallen in love with? Precisely.

Shelby couldn't think of anything in her eighteen years of living that she regretted more than the kind of activities she engaged in with, of all people, Chase Randall.

It was a moment of weakness is what she tells herself, though; weakness is never a word she associated with herself. She always considered herself as strong and independent, she knew she wasn't like most girls her age and had always prided herself on that fact.

Most girls her age were too focused on boys, the mall, their looks, or all of the above, while she always found great interest in dinosaurs and fossils. Something about it always fascinated her.

She never hated or disliked Chase (though her actions towards him spoke otherwise); she just wasn't necessarily keen to the way he was with girls. He reminded her of all the guys she tried to desperately avoid in high school. The ones who were smooth talkers and slick with their hands.

Chase never did more to her than just innocent flirting that she never took seriously. He was attractive, there was no denying that, but she just couldn't see Chase in a committed relationship with one girl at a time. He was a true ladies man to the core and to be quite frank, Shelby wasn't interested in wasting anymore of her time on guys like that.

(At least she thought she was)

 _~*~ Flashback: almost 10 months ago ~*~_

This was before she became a Pink Ranger, before she found the pink energem and most importantly, before she knew anything of Tyler Navarro. It was back when she was just like any normal teenager, working as a waitress at Dino Bite to make ends meet. It was during a time in her life where Shelby Watkins had found herself unhappy, unsatisfied, and somewhat – lost.

She had just graduated high school only months prior and didn't know what she wanted to do with her life or what her purpose was. She knew she loved Paleontology, which was what she was majoring in at the community college she was attending, but even her love for dinosaurs could not fill the void that harvested her life.

She was beginning to think her life's purpose didn't extend past flipping burgers and serving customers with bad attitudes.

But it was then, she could remember, when closing time came for Dino Bite, it was her day to close down and as she stacked the last chair, releasing a heavy sigh as she shut off the lights and made sure every door was locked is when Chase appeared out of nowhere with his skateboard and backwards hat with that same smirk on his face that he would use when he was shamelessly trying to hit on a girl. He tried that grin on her many times and it never worked on her… until that night, of course.

"Chase!" Shelby gasped with her hand over her chest to steady her rapid heartbeat. "What the heck? You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Locking the front doors to Dino Bite, she began walking towards the exit of the museum with Chase on her hills. "What are doing here in the middle of the night?"

"What does it look like sweetheart? I'm walking you home. It's not safe for you to be alone at this hour." He said, using his skateboard to keep up with her fast paced walking.

Shelby scoffed, stopping in her tracks making Chase almost crash into her with his skateboard.

"And if an axe murderer were to come right now, you expect me to believe you would _actually_ be able protect me?"

Chase shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe not that exact scenario, but, precisely yes."

Shelby rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Thanks, but no thanks Chase. I'm no damsel in distress and you're certainly not my knight and shining armor. I can take care of myself."

Her last words had come out a lot harsher than she intended. Silence followed after as they continued walking, now outside the museum, the cool, night air of Amber Beach slithered around the coat of Shelby's skin, causing goose bumps and an involuntary shiver.

Noticing this, Chase removed his black, zip up jacket and handed it to Shelby who shook her head. Chase rolled his eyes.

"Will you stop being stubborn and put it on? It's freezing out here and you're cold. You might get sick."

Reluctantly, Shelby slid his jacket on and was immediately greeted by the strong scent of collogue – Axe maybe.

"Thanks," she mumbled as they continued walking in silence.

"Shelby?" he said, breaking the long silence between them.

"Mhm,"

"I know you think I'm some flirty douche who always hits on you –"

"You got that right."

Clearing his throat, he continued. "But, I – I actually care about you, whether you choose to believe it or not."

This made Shelby turn to look at him, her eyebrows raised.

"Are you serious Chase?"

This made Chase stop abruptly, which made Shelby stop as well.

"Yes, Shelbs, I am. You know, there is an actual person with a heart behind this attractive exterior, as hard as it is to believe."

Shelby giggled. Why was she giggling? She never giggled. Other girls giggled, but she did not.

"There's that smile I've been fishing for."

Shelby rolled her eyes and they continued walking.

"Have you ever felt like there was something you were meant to do, but you just didn't know what it was exactly?"

"So, that's what's bothering you?"

"It's nothing bothering me –" Shelby stopped herself mid-sentence when she noticed deadpanned stare Chase was giving her. She rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, so, maybe it is bothering me." She sighed. "I don't know, I guess I'm just confused and frustrated. I know there's something out there I'm meant to do; I just don't know what it is. I just… what if I never find out what my purpose is?"

Shelby watched as Chase took a step towards her and placed a hand on her cheek and stroked it a little with a crooked smile on his handsome face.

"Shelby Watkins, you're the smartest, prettiest girl I know. You could be anything you desired. You may not know exactly what you're purpose is, but I know it will be something great. And even if you never find out what it is, I'm sure one of your purposes is making most guys hearts stop by your beauty."

It was corny, but, somehow Shelby's heart fluttered at Chase's words. It was the first time she'd seen another side of him other than flirty. It was a real, sweet, and genuine.

And then something happened – something unexpected. Suddenly, their lips were pressed against one another. They were kissing. It was sweet and soft. Shelby wasn't sure who leaned in first, but before she knew it, his hands were all over her as were hers on him.

And then, she pulled away, her brown eyes staring into his green orbs. Shelby finally tore her eyes away from him and noticed through the dim lighting of the street, her one bedroom apartment just across the street.

Taking him by the hand, she led him all the way to her front steps, inside, past the living room and kitchen, to her bedroom where his lips found hers fervently. His cold hands upon her once again, only this time, to peel away the various threads of clothing, she doing the same.

It was all a blur from there on. The next thing she could remember is the sound of Chase's loud groan echo through her apartment as she straddled his waist with his hands grasping her waist as she rode him.

 _~*~Back to the present~*~_

The next morning she had awakened, only slightly surprised to find Chase lying next to her with his arm looped loosely around her waist as she could feel his warm breath on the tip of her bare shoulder.

After, she made him swear up and down that he'd tell no one of what they had done. He agreed rather reluctantly and after that, they went on with things as if it never happened. Shelby had been content with the way things were. That was until she began her courtship with Tyler. That was when she began to feel the weight of what she'd done on her shoulders.

Shelby felt shivers go up her spine just by the simple thought of Chase and what they'd done. This, however, attracted the attention of Tyler, whose arm was enveloped around her as they sat, cuddled on his couch watching one of his favorite movies – _Jurassic Park_.

"Hey, you okay?" he whispered in her ear.

Shelby looked up at him, biting her lip. _No!_ She wanted to scream so badly. _No I'm not okay! I've been carrying the secret of sleeping with Chase from you and it's eating me alive!_ But, instead, she nodded her head and plastered a false smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, for starters, you've seemed distracted throughout the entire movie and you haven't even touched the popcorn…" He turned to her, his attention fully on her now. "What's on your mind? And don't tell me it's nothing, Shelbs. I know you and I know when something's bothering you."

And she wanted so badly to tell him that he was nuts and that he was wrong. Nothing was bothering her and that it was all in his head, like she had been doing practically since they had started their relationship. But, she knew she couldn't do it. She just couldn't do it anymore. Her conscious wouldn't allow her to do it any longer.

So, she stood, paced the carpet for a while before turning to look at Tyler, whose eyes were now filled with something beyond concern and worry. Was it fear?

"Shelbs, please…" he then got up and had his arms wrapped around her waist within seconds. "Tell me what's wrong…"

And Shelby knew it was time… the moment of truth. There would be no more lies and no more secrets. Tyler was going to know the truth once and for all.

"There's something I need to tell you, Tyler, something important. But first, I think we should sit." Taking him by the hand she led him to his couch and sat down along with him.

"What it is, Shells? You're beginning to scare me… are you… you're not... breaking up with me are you?"

The slight fear that resided in his eyes let Shelby know that his question was genuine. She then took him by the hand and kissed it.

"No, no, of course not Tyler, why would you think that?"

Tyler shook his head a little. "Paranoid, I guess."

But Shelby could tell it was more to it than he was leading on.

"Anyways, now that's out the way. What was it you had to tell me?"

Shelby swallowed hard. This was going to be harder than anything she's ever had to do. Finally revealing such cryptic information as this could possibly end her relationship with Tyler, but also keeping it a secret could also end the relationship as well. Shelby knew then that she could end up losing Tyler either way and figured it'd be better if she just got it over with.

"Tyler, I slept with Chase!"

Silence echoed through the entire apartment, deadly silence that slowly began to eat at Shelby as her eyes remained focused on Tyler. He hadn't said a word, and although it had only been a couple minutes of silence, it felt like eternity.

"Tyler…" she finally spoke, reaching her hand out to touch him but he got up and walked over to the window.

"Tyler, please say something… I'm sorry…"

"...You cheated on me." He said as more of a question. "You cheated on me with _Chase?_ "

"No, Tyler." Shelby said, quickly on her feet. "It happened before we even met."

Tyler turned his head sharply at her with accusing eyes.

"And you think that makes it better? You think the fact that you had _sex_ with him before you met me makes it all better?"

Shelby didn't like the way he was looking at her, like a slut, a treacherous whore, a backstabber.

"No," Shelby shook her head. "No I don't Tyler. I just… I just don't want you to think I betrayed you –"

"But you did!" he interjected rather aggressively. "You did, Shelby! You not only slept with Chase, but you, you lied to me about it. Our whole relationship's been based off lies!" Tyler shook his head, running his fingers through his dark mane frustrated. "And you know what? All this time, I knew there was something wrong and I couldn't figure out what it was. I was beginning to think I was just paranoid, that it was all in my head… but it wasn't. You knew all along and you allowed me to believe that I was the one who was going crazy." He looked at her with pure disdain. "How could you do that? Look at me in the eyes… and just lie with such ease?"

Salty tears leaked from her eyes as she shook her head. "Tyler, I-I didn't mean to. I was afraid I'd –"

"I think you should leave."

"What," Shelby said, taken aback by his words.

"I need to be alone right now."

"Tyler, please," she practically begged, a shaky hand reaching out to touch his cheek, but his hand caught hers by the wrist, she gasped a little at the sudden contact.

"Leave…"

His voice was firm and so was his grip on her wrist. She couldn't believe what was happening. He had never raised his voice with her, he'd never kicked her out of his apartment, and he never looked at her the way he was looking at her now. Slowly, one by one, she could feel all her fears of losing Tyler coming true.

She knew it would be bad, but never did she imagine it'd be _this_ bad.

After releasing her wrist, she slowly backed away from him. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as she padded her way to the door. With her hand on the knob, she turned to look back at him, but he already turned his back to her. Feeling her heart crumple in her chest right then and there, she opened the door.

"I'm sorry…" were her last words before shutting the door behind her and as she did, she broke into a fit of tears. Sliding down the wall, she buried her face into her hands. She would never forget the look in his eyes, a look she'd never seen before, a look she never desired to see again.

 _Pull yourself together Shelby, you're stronger than this_.

Yeah, she was strong alright, but not when it came to Tyler. Tyler was her one and only weakness and for most of their time being together she hadn't minded that fact until now.

Lesson learned: never allow another human being to become your kryptonite – _ever_.

After somewhat pulling herself together, she stood and left Tyler's apartment complex and left to her own, which, fortunately enough, wasn't too far.

Upon arrival, she immediately slid off all her clothing and took a long hot shower, allowing the lukewarm water to stream down her exhausted frame.

And as she lay in bed that night, staring up at her ceiling, she thought of Tyler and knew she would not get a goodnight's rest that night…

oOoOoOo

"You might want to call me after 8pm. That's usually when my dad leaves for his night shift." The flirty blonde said, biting her lip as she tugged on the hem of his shirt suggestively.

Chase smirked and winked at the girl, "Sure thing darling."

"Chase, we need to talk."

Chase turned around to see Tyler, who looked like he hadn't showered or groomed himself in days. Everything about him had looked disheveled; it actually worried Chase to see him like that.

"Um, okay." He turned to girl with a flirtatious grin. "I'll see you later?"

"Definitely." The girl smile and strutted off, twitching her hips from left to right as she did so. Chase licked his lips and turned back to Tyler who looked enraged.

"What's the matter with you –"but before he could finish his sentence, he was already on the ground, holding his nose in which blood was oozing out of. He looked up at Tyler in shock. "What the – Tyler what did you do that for?"

Tyler's eyes were wide with anger. "You already know _what,_ Randall _."_

And Chase, immediately, knew what he was talking about. He remained silent as he continued to cup his nose tightly to prevent more blood from oozing out.

"I can't believe you man, we are supposed to be friends. How could you and Shelby lie to me like that?"

"Look, mate, we –"

"Don't call me that!"

Chase sighed. " _Tyler_ , what happened between Shelby and me… it was months ago, before you two even met –"

Tyler laughed but no humor was behind it. "You two really seem to think that because it happened _before_ we all knew it each other that it somehow makes it all better –"

"It doesn't. I know it doesn't. But, that was long ago. It obviously didn't mean much to Shelby." There was a hint of bitterness in Chase's tone as he struggled to stand. "You're the one she wants to be with. What she did, before you got with her, shouldn't matter."

"How could you say that?" Tyler asked and for the first time since he arrived, Chase saw the genuine sadness and affliction that plagued him. "Like _hell_ it matters, Chase. We're supposed to be team mates, best friends, brothers and you knew this whole time what you did with Shelby, even after all those times I told you how I felt about her, how I planned on marrying her one day, and you just sat there and lied right to my face, both you and Shelby." He shook his head at him in pure disgust as he turned to leave. "You're more alike than I ever would have thought. You deserve each other."

"Maybe we do." Chase spat, the words spilling out of his mouth before he could catch them.

Tyler stopped dead in his tracks; slowly he turned around, a lethal glare in his eyes.

"What did you say?"

"You said, we deserve each other, I agree. You see Tyler; I'm the type of guy where if I see something that I like, I get it, no matter the cost or consequences. You, _dear mate_ , however, wait, wait, and wait until the opportunity is gone." He shook his head. "It took you _months_ just to build up enough courage to ask Shelby out on a _date_. Now that, my friend, is quite pathetic if you ask me. I know if you ever found your father, you'd be just as a disappointment to him as you are to Shelby –"

And before Chase could finish his sentence, Tyler was on top of him, pounding punch after punch after punch. He couldn't believe Chase would say something like that. He knew how badly the desire burned within him to find his father. Tyler blinked and didn't stop his fists from colliding with Chase's face. Chase was able to get one or two punches in, but it hadn't been enough to get Tyler off him.

It was only when Tyler felt himself being pulled away from Chase is when his senses started coming back. He almost didn't recognize his friend that stood before him with a busted lip and a huge bruise that was beginning to form above his right eye with a few minor scratches surrounding it. For a split second, Tyler felt slight remorse at the badly beaten Black Ranger that stood before him.

Kendall and Riley helped him up as Koda held Tyler in place to prevent him from finishing off what he started.

"Good grief, you two! What is going on here?"

Tyler shook his head and glared at Chase, who looked both shocked and remorseful, but Tyler didn't care. He said some things Tyler wouldn't be able to forgive. "Stay away from me, Chase. As far as I'm concerned, our friendship is over."

Everyone looked utterly confused and shocked as they watched Tyler leave out the museum.

oOoOoOo

 _'...You cheated on me.'_

 _'Our whole relationship's been based off lies!'_

 _'How could you do that? Look at me in the eyes… and just lie with such ease?'_

 _'I think you should leave…'_

Shelby yelped at the sudden sound that jolted her out of her sleep. Sleep she had been craving all night. Throwing the covers off her body and rubbing at her eyes, she sniffled as she padded her way through the apartment to hear the knock again, only louder this time.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Shelby grumbled, shocked at what or should she say _who_ she saw standing at her doorstep. Immediately, she took notice to the freshly made bruises on his face.

"Oh my – Chase what happened!" Pulling him inside, she immediately led him to her couch and rushed to her bathroom, finally retrieving the First Aid Kit, she returned only to find Chase flipping through the channels on her TV. She rolled her eyes, grabbed the remote from him and shut the TV off. Kneeling in front of him, she began to aid him in his wounds.

"Seriously Chase, you look terrible. Who did this to you?"

He chuckled lightly as he winced a little as she applied Neosporin to cut on his lip.

"Your boyfriend's what happened. It seems he's not too happy about finding out what happened between us all those months ago."

Shelby gasped and shook her head in disbelief.

"What? Tyler did this? I don't – I don't believe it."

"You could have warned me you know. He caught me completely off guard."

Shelby was still in shock at the damage Tyler left on Chase. Tyler never struck her as the violent type. This was worst than she ever would have thought.

"W-What exactly happened? I mean, Tyler wouldn't just go off on you like this if you hadn't of said something to set him off. Tyler he's – he's not violent like this."

A humorless laugh escaped past Chase's lips.

"You defend him even when he says we belong together."

Shelby head shot up with alertness. "He said that?"

"Not his, ouch, exact words. More like 'you two deserve each other' but in a much more hostile tone."

"Sorry," Shelby mumbled, dabbing at the cut above his brow. "I can't believe he said that… what did you say?"

The lightness of his mood seemed to dim as he grew silent for several moments.

"I… may have… brought up his father and pointed out how disappointed his father would be in him and that's when it got ugly."

"What," Shelby screeched, standing up. "You said _what?_ Chase, I can't believe you would say something like that about his father to him. You know how much finding his father means to him." Shelby shook her head. "That was low, even for you."

"I was wrong, I admit that. I shouldn't have brought up his father period. It was uncalled for. But, Tyler is blowing this whole thing between us out of proportion."

Sighing, she moved to the wound near his lips.

"He has a right to be upset, Chase. I'm his girlfriend, I should have told him from the start, but instead I lied to him, over and over, for the entirety of our relationship." Shelby shook her head, finishing up on his wounds as she closed the First Aid Kit. "I should have just explained, if I would have explained what a mistake it was –"

Chase placed a gentle hand on her wrist, his hunter green eyes gleaming up at hers,

"You call what we did a mistake?" Standing to his feet, he was several inches taller than her. "Did you think it was a mistake at the time?"

She could feel the coolness of his breath hit against her face and the lack of space between them made her heart pound against her chest like a hammer against cloth.

"Chase," Shelby breathed out, her tone almost forewarning him as he leaned in closer to her, his lips inches from hers. Reluctantly, she closes the gap between them and once again, their mouths move in sync with one another's.

Once engaged in the kiss, Shelby immediately recognizes that kissing Chase is a completely different experience than kissing Tyler.

She realizes that something is missing, that something, deep down in the pit of stomach, doesn't sit right with her as Chase snakes his hands around her waist, pulling her closer as he deepens their kiss.

She expects to feel the swarm of butterflies that usually explodes in the depths of her tummy when she kisses Tyler. The rapid beat of her heart pound against her chest with excitement, passion, thrill, anticipation. And the goose bumps that follow Tyler's touch.

But, instead, she feels… nothing. Absolutely nothing. No zing, no elation, no butterflies, just the bareness of his lips pressed against hers with nothing to feel or _at least_ experience.

Perhaps she was wrong for comparing Chase to Tyler, they were two different people, but she couldn't help but to. Chase could not come close to Tyler, did not even compare. Tyler was the only one who possessed the key to her heart.

With that realization alone, she was able to recognize the mistake she was going to make again as Chase's hand began to lift up the hem of her tank top. Before he could reach the bare skin underneath, she pulled away, stepping out of his reach.

"No, Chase. We can't. This is wrong… I – I love Tyler."

An awkward silence floated around them as it seemed her words had finally dawned on him, running his fingers through his hair, his eyes met hers.

"Just answer me this one question…" He trails. "…Does he make you happy?"

"…yeah, he does." Shelby answers and he nods slowly.

"Well, he's one lucky ranger to have a girl like you."

He smiles, though Shelby knows it is not authentic, yet forced. She watches as he heads to the door and as he opens the door to leave, she stops him with her words.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Thanks for the help." He says, gesturing towards his face and then, he's gone.

She releases a heavy sigh, plopping down on her sofa. Why did her life insist on remaining so difficult?

oOoOoOo

Pulling the keys out of the ignition, Tyler released a shaky breath as he stared up at apartment buildings Shelby lived in. It had been almost three weeks since he's spoken to Shelby (aside from when Fury and his goons popped up, asking for trouble and the other missing energems). He was still very angry with her _and_ Chase, whom he hadn't spoken to either (excluding missions as well). But, he couldn't deny to himself how much he has missed her. It was the longest the two had ever been apart since getting together.

He still loved her and cared about her, even if she did betray him. She hadn't been looking too good the last time he did see her. In fact, he almost didn't recognize her. Bags now slept under her eyes, her usual vibrant brown eyes no longer held that spark it once had. She wasn't doing that well on missions, even to the point where she had almost gotten captured and killed by one of Fury and Sledge's goons if Riley hadn't been by her side at the time and was able to fight them off.

He winced at the pitch of Ms. Morgan's voice as she yelled at Shelby, stating how she put the whole team at risk and almost getting everyone killed for her lack of awareness and letting her "personal problems" interfere with being a ranger. Ms. Morgan banned her from any near future missions until Shelby "got her act together".

That was when Tyler began to feel a slight reign of guilt. Was he angry with her? Yes. Did he want her to suffer? Maybe in the beginning, but never to this degree and for that, he knew it was time for him to finally toss his pride to the side and talk to her, he _needed_ to talk to her, be alone with her, and finally get to the bottom of this once and for all.

Tyler found himself in conflict as to whether he should just knock or use the spare key Shelby had given to him a month and two and half months ago prior. It left him standing in front of her door for several moments before sliding the key back into his pocket and knocking instead. It felt weird to use it when they were currently not in a good place.

An odd feeling began to form in the pit of his stomach as he knocked a few more times, still not receiving a response. Horrifying thoughts of Shelby began to enter into his thoughts. _What if she's hurt?_ That thought alone made him quickly dig back into the depths of his pockets and shove the key into the lock.

"Screw it," he mumbled to himself as he pushed the door open. "Shelby!" he called, closing the door behind him. Her apartment was a mess, which was very unusual for someone like Shelby. He always knew her as always being neat and organized. So to see her apartment in such a wreck worried Tyler even more as he walked further into the one bedroom apartment.

"Shelby, it's me, Tyler." He said, rounding the corner which led to her bedroom and that's where he found her, buried under her light pink comforter, fast asleep. He could feel a rush of relief pass through him as he slid off his shoes and slid right into her queen sized bed, right next to her. She looked so peaceful asleep, and as he watched her chest rise and fall, he thought of the pained expression she wore the last time they had a real conversation.

He knew, deep down, a part of him was being unfair. What she… _engaged_ in with Chase happened long before he and Shelby had met. But still, it bothered him immensely.

It was not only the fact that she was intimate with another man – his best friend at that, but the fact that she didn't tell him. It made him feel suspicious of her. His mind had him believing that she had feelings for Chase, that every time she was physically there with him, her mind was on Chase. He secretly wondered if that had anything to do with why they had not consummated their relationship yet.

That was _another_ thing. He loved Shelby, so much it sometimes scared him. She was on his mind constantly, so much it had to be unhealthy, but Tyler didn't care. He had never felt this way about anyone before. Sure, he had a girlfriend or two in the past, but neither compared to Shelby – not on any level. He wanted her. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to know her dreams, her aspirations, her pet peeves, her favorite hobbies – digging up dinosaur fossils was one of them, he knew. He wanted her badly. Every single part of her he wanted to know. He wanted to know what pleased her to no end, what satisfied her, what she feared the most… he wanted to marry her.

It was the simple fact that _Chase_ touched a part of her that Tyler had not. _Chase_ had pleased and satisfied her in ways Tyler, once again, had not.

What was it about _Chase_ that made Shelby feel she could give that part of herself to Chase and feel she could not with him?

The question gave his head a dull ache every time it was brought to the forefront of his mind, unbidden.

"Tyler," he heard a familiar voice say in slight surprise.

He gave a half hearted smile as he gave her lips a soft peck.

"Hello gorgeous," the words rolled off his tongue as easily as he pushed a strand of hair away from her face.

A tired smile etched her face, a smile Tyler had no idea how much he'd missing seeing until now.

"I see you've used the spare key I gave you. You know that's for emergencies only, right?"

Tyler hand found its way to her face, down to her jaw.

"This is an emergency, Shell… we need to talk."

With a swift nod, she sat up and tied her hair back with a hair tie.

Straightening up his posture, he turned his body towards her as she did the same. Clearing his throat, he tried his best to ignore the open part of her skin that left little to the imagination with the hot pink boy shorts she had on and white tank top that was only slightly see through. He could visibly make out the silhouette of her pink bra.

"Why did you wait so long to tell me?" he asked, deciding to get straight to the point.

"I wanted to tell you Tyler, I really did. There were a number of times I wanted to. But I was afraid I'd lose you, that you'd hate me." He could see her brown eyes glisten with tears. "I was ashamed you'd see me as some type of slut. I mean, we both know how Chase is with girls. He doesn't have the best track record you know…"

"Oh, I'm _well_ aware." Tyler said with a roll of the eyes, and then moved closer to her, grabbing a hold of her hand. "Shells, you know I could never hate you. Even through all of this, I tried to, but I couldn't. I never could because I love you, with all my heart. And you're not a slut. Don't ever say that."

Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Tyler, I'm so sorry. I should have told you, I really should have. I'm the one who told Chase to keep it a secret. Even after we got together, he wanted to tell you, I know it. But I made him promise. This whole thing is my fault. I'm such a terrible person…" she sobbed into her hands.

Tyler released a sigh, pulling her into him, she sobbed heavily in his chest. He kissed her forehead.

"It will take me much more time to move past this. But I will, eventually, because I love you. Okay?"

Shelby sniffled, lifting up off his chest and slowly nodded.

"I love you too, Tyler, so much."

Tyler then leaned in and closed the gap between them. Shelby's hand found its way to his jaw and stroked it as she deepens the kiss. Suddenly, she pushes him down on the bed and straddles his waist, pulling her tank top over head to reveal her pink bra and flat tummy.

He looked up at her with a shocked expression.

"S-Shelby, are you, are you sure about this? I don't want to do this if you don't want to –"

"I want to." She said, leaning down and pressing her lips to his. "I _want_ to, Tyler. So badly..."

His eyes searched her brown ones for uncertainty or any sense of hesitance, but found no such thing but determination, desire, and love.

A smile etched his features as he flipped them both over, his body hovering over hers as he removed his shirt with the help of Shelby along with the rest of his undergarments, along with hers.

His eyes scanned her body as she did the same, his eyes found its way back to her face. He couldn't believe how beautiful she was. How he managed to land her as a girlfriend was beyond his knowledge.

Leaning down, his lips were centimeters from hers, he whispers, "I love you, Shelby Elizabeth Watkins."

Smiling up at him, she says, ever so softly. "I love you too, Tyler James Navarro."

And soon after those words left her mouth, his lips captured hers in a long, impassioned kiss and soon after, his body covered hers completely…

oOoOoOo

"Hey, um, Tyler, can we um, can we talk man?" Chase had asked, an entire month had gone by since their altercation and since then, he and Chase hadn't spoken much. Tyler was still upset with him, but he had to admit, he missed the company of his best friend.

Nodding solemnly, the two broke away from the others and left to the other side of the museum. They had just finished defeating yet another plan made by Sledge and Fury to retrieve the other five lost energems. Shelby was showing Koda and Riley how the E-Tracer was able to track Sledge, Fury, and his goons.

"Look, Tyler, I wanted to apologize, about the things I said to you before. I was wrong, about everything. You've been nothing but a good friend to me since the day we met… And the thing with Shelby…" Chase shook his head briefly. "She loves you man, I can see it. You two really are good together, you know… you give the rest of us something to admire."

Tyler stared at his friend and fellow battle mate and patted his shoulder, it seemed like all the resentment he had held against Chase this past month had melted away. He was sincere and that's all that mattered to Tyler.

Smiling, he says, "Don't even sweat it, man. As far as I'm concerned, we're cool."

A wide grin spread across Chase's face with raised eyebrows, "really? You mean that?"

"Of course,"

And they embraced, only for the moment to be short lived as the sound of "awe's" echoed around them. The two pulled apart and seen Riley, Shelby, and Koda all grinning.

"You two… friends again?" Koda asked, smiling and gesturing towards Tyler and Chase.

Tyler squeezed Chase's shoulder with a sincere smile.

"You bet."

* * *

And that my friends, is thankfully, the end. Don't forget, reviews are always appreciated! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one. :-) xX


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